The Girl with a Scholarship
by Miqila
Summary: Nikolo is a spoiled rich boy, Sasha is a country girl with a scholarship. Can these two get along despite the differences between them?


**A.N: Spoilers up to chapter 106, but nothing major since this is an AU.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own SnK.**

 **The Girl with a Scholarship**

Nikolo met Sasha on her first day at the cooking club. Being a year younger, the girl had been paired up with an older club member, and it had been him by pure coincidence. He hadn't known her level of ability, but since she had joined the cooking club he figured that she wasn't a complete beginner in the kitchen. And apparently, she wasn't, but that didn't really show. Many of the spices and ingredients they used seemed completely new to her, which Nikolo found both ridiculous and fascinating at the same time. It was all very basic stuff after all, so how come she was always so surprised by it all? It's not like she was stupid; she memorized whatever he told her about the foods new to her quickly and didn't make any notable mistakes after learning something once. She had a bit more trouble with the cooking utensils they used, also very basic by the way, but she managed to get by. Was she trying to act cute by appearing dumper than she was? That'd be ridiculous, both the action itself and the thought that she'd have to try like that to appear cute. She was adorable enough as she was.

" _Wait, what?"_ Nikolo thought, shaking his head in embarrassment. No no, he didn't think she was cute, not at all. Quite opposite actually; the way she ate, for example, was rather ill mannered… which is why it was so fascinating that she never left a mess behind her after eating, no matter what she ate. No, she always managed to get every crump and drop, not leaving anything behind. Nikolo had been subtly watching her eat for the last two months every Tuesday and Friday in the club, but still hadn't figured how exactly she did it.

"Nikolo, have you seen the smallest frying pan?" the girl he's thinking of asks, pulling him out of his thoughts. Without looking up from his cooking, he asks: "Did you check the drying cabinet?"

"No" Sasha answers. There's a pause before she calls out: "Yup, it's here. Thanks, Nikolo!"

There's no reason to do so, but Nikolo turns to look at her when she thanks him anyway, seeing her bright smile which brings a small one on his face in return. Her smile is beautiful, although this one pales in comparison to the one she has whenever she eats something she really likes, especially if it's a completely new dish for her. Nikolo knows nothing more beautiful than-

" _No, damn it"_ he thinks, shaking his head once more. Sasha was an attractive girl, but not _that_ attractive, now was she? Nikolo knew many women more beautiful than her. The names just happened to escape his memory at the moment is all. Wanting to get these thoughts out of his mind, he glances what Sasha's up to. Probably not the best thing to do for distraction, but it works as he notices that the girl is having trouble with the stove again. Seriously, how hard can it be to use that thing?

"You forgot again, didn't you" he mutters, and it's not really a question. Sasha doesn't meet his gaze, looking away awkwardly "Can you show me how to use it… again."

Nikolo sighs, but goes over anyway. He shows Sasha how to put the stove on again, wondering how a simple child safety lock can still cause her so much trouble after all this time. And the stove was by no means the only thing she had trouble with in the kitchen.

"You always have trouble with the equipment" he says "Did you never cook at home?"

It feels unlikely since she is, despite everything, rather good at cooking, but maybe it's just text book knowledge and talent?

Sasha looks at him, seeming a bit embarrassed.

"I did" she answers, looking him straight in the eye but then averting her gaze as she adds: "It's just… our kitchen is completely different from this. Everything's so high tech and modern here that I'm not used to it."

Modern was accurate, he supposed, but they weren't high tech. Not that Nikolo knew a lot about technology, but he was well informed in the stuff that included cooking. What they had at school were really basic and not even the latest models, of that he was sure. Maybe Sasha's family just liked vintage style and the girl had had no chance to use proper, modern equipment? That seemed like the most logical explanation here.

"I see" and that was the end of the conversation.

XXXXX

Nikolo was on his way to the cooking club as he passed by some younger club members, taking stuff from their lockers. He didn't pay them any mind aside from politely greeting them, but just as he rounded the corner he heard one of them mention Sasha's name and curiosity made him stop in his tracks. Not that he was eavesdropping or anything, he just happened to stop there for a moment.

"Seriously?" one of the girls asked, laughing. A boy grinned, confirming it "Yup, Blouse flunked the math test. Heard she has to redo it again next week."

"I can't believe it! She flunked history as well and barely passed English!" the girl said and they both laughed. Nikolo found it surprising as well. While he had never expected the girl to be a straight A student, he hadn't expected this, either. Especially when their school wasn't even that hard to get in to. Private school or not, anyone with barely average grades could get in as long as they were able to handle the monthly payments.

"She'll get kicked out at this rate" no she wouldn't "She's only here because of a scholarship after all."

Wait, what?

"But it's a sports scholarship, isn't it?" the boy asked "She can probably manage as long as she gets passing grades."

"Yeah, maybe" the girl said "But to be honest, might be better if she didn't. I mean not only is she low born, she's a redneck too. It's not rare to hear her ridiculous accent slipping, either."

The two laughed, and Nikolo decided he'd heard enough. However, as he walked to the home economics class, he couldn't get the things they said out of his mind. Sasha was here on a scholarship? _Seriously?_ It's not that he hadn't known their school had students like that, of course he'd known, but he hadn't expected one of those he had actually interacted with to be one of them, to be lower class. He thought he'd know them when he saw them and would've known to stay away. But guess he'd let his guard down after the first year.

It made sense, really. It made sense that Sasha couldn't use all the equipment since her family probably couldn't afford proper new ones. It made sense that there were so many ingredients and foods she didn't know since she was from the countryside and her family probably couldn't afford them. It made sense that she always ate so much, more than any other girl she'd seen, in class. She was probably trying to save what little money she had that way. It made perfect sense.

"We're teamed up again!" he was startled to hear Sasha's cheer as she skipped over to him, apparently being his partner again. Normally he didn't mind that much, but right now it bothered him as he saw the girl in a new light… come to think of it, now that he actually looked at her, even her clothes screamed a commoner redneck, or at least he thought so. They were definitely very different from what all the other girls in the school wore… Nikolo just hadn't really thought about it before.

"…Are my clothes dirty?" Sasha asked suddenly, causing Nikolo to look at her face "What?"

"Are my clothes dirty or something?" Sasha asked, looking herself over "You were looking at me weirdly."

Nikolo felt heat rising to his cheeks as he quickly turned away, denying it. He totally wasn't.

XXXXX

In the next few weeks Nikolo could see it very clearly, the fact that the two of them were from completely different worlds. How had he not seen something so obvious before? She had an accent that she tried to hide but that often slipped out, she dressed in plain clothes different from the others, all the stuff she had looked cheap, she always brought her own lunches instead of buying from the cafeteria (well, so did he, but that was because he liked to cook) and had absolutely no table manners. He hadn't dealt with lot of rednecks, but he felt like Sasha was a text book example of one aside from the fact that she didn't make a mess while eating. Nikolo still wondered how she did that.

He had decided to put some distance between him and Sasha, as much as he could. It was no good to interact with the lower classes. They were, after all, ill mannered and lazy, bitter about the fact that they didn't have what others did. But they would if they just worked for it, just like Nikolo had… but well, in that sense, Sasha wasn't _that_ bad. She had gotten in to a good school, so she was obviously working in order to make her life better instead of just whining about how the upper class were all snobs and wasteful like he'd often heard low born people do. Still, he had to keep his distance, for it'd be shameful to be associated with someone like her. With him often ending up as her partner, he feared that some people in the club already did.

"Nikolo?"

"What?" he asked. He didn't really want to talk to her, but having ended up as her partner again, he had no choice. He just made sure to limit it to when she asked for something or if it looked like she was about to mess things up too badly.

"…Nothing" She wasn't usually like this, hesitant about saying something. Nikolo knew he shouldn't, but glanced at Sasha anyway. She was chopping the carrots, biting her lip. She might hurt herself if she kept that up.

Not that he really cared.

XXXXX

He knew he shouldn't, but in the cafeteria his eyes automatically trailed off to Sasha as he saw her sitting few tables away, alone. She usually did, aside from the time she sat with the students from the archery club… now that he thought about it, that was probably what her scholarship was about. Would make sense with her being a country girl and all. That was the kind of stuff they did in the country, right?

"Seeing something you like?" Nikolo was startled and turned to look at the person sitting across from him. Yelena, member of several different martial arts clubs and sort of his friend. Onyankopon, also a friend of his, who was sitting next to Yelena, turned to look in to the direction he had, a smile coming to his face as his eyes landed on Sasha.

"I think it's more like someone" he said with a grin, making Nikolo scoff.

"No, it's not" he disagreed. He could see Yelena and Onyankopon exchanging looks, see that they didn't believe him. Ugh, whatever, these two always messed with him no matter what he did anyway. Why did he hang out with them again?

"Really?" Onyankopon asked, looking at Sasha, but Nikolo chose to ignore him as he just took a bite of his sandwich "Well then, maybe I should give it a try. That Sasha girl's quite cute after all…"

Nikolo almost choked on his sandwich after this, looking at the man with wide eyes, only to see him looking at him with a smirk now instead of Sasha. Raising an eyebrow, Onyankopon asked: "You still sure it's not _someone_?"

"I'm leaving" was Nikolo's answer as he gathered the rest of his food, storming away from the table. Onyankopon was a real pain.

XXXXX

Later in the same day, Nikolo passed by Sasha in the hallway, quickening his pace as he saw her, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed.

"Nikolo!" but it seemed luck wasn't on his side today. Sighing, he asked without stopping or turning around: "Yes?"

He could hear Sasha walk after him, quickly catching up. He sped up his pace lightly, hoping that the girl would get the hint, but he had no such luck.

"Are you going to the club already?" she asked. Nikolo gave her a quick "yes" without looking at her, hoping that the fact that he clearly wasn't in the mood to talk would make her drop it. Again, no such luck.

"Me too" she said "Since we're both early today, might as well team up and get everything ready!"

Nikolo wanted to say no, he was _going to_ say no, but one look at her cheerful face, he didn't even know why he looked instead of keeping his eyes aimed straight ahead, made him unable to.

"Yeah, sure" he said, cursing himself right afterwards. He was supposed to be keeping distance!

"Yay!"

Yay? _Seriously?_ Nikolo shook his head, embarrassed that someone else would hear, but fortunately there weren't that many people around. Sighing again, he decided to pay at least some attention to Sasha's endless blabbering. Just out of politeness and nothing else, of course. Fortunately, the topic she had chosen wasn't boring or pointless; she was going on and on about some new dishes she'd tried and recipes she'd found. Those were the kind of things Nikolo could appreciate, throwing in a comment or two of his own every now and then. Every time he did he'd have Sasha's full attention, even after they got to the home economics class and started to get everything ready.

After a while they had gotten the preparations done, yet no one else had still come. Looking at the clock, Nikolo was surprised how early it still was. He knew they were there way before they needed to, but he hadn't realized they'd have _this much_ time in their hands after they were done. Even Sasha seemed to have ran out of things to say, which was unusual of her, but Nikolo wasn't going to complain since he had decided not to talk to her anymore. Still, the silence made things a little uncomfortable.

"Hey Nikolo?" Sasha said, making Nikolo unsure if he should be happy or not that she had spoken. Whichever it was, he found himself answering: "What?"

"Are you avoiding me?" Nikolo froze. Sasha was blunt and straight to the point, as usual, but that didn't make this any easier for him. He should've seen this coming, he should've known she wasn't the kind of girl who'd just take the hint quietly without questioning him like social etiquette required. Of course, she wouldn't; she was Sasha, girl from the countryside with a scholarship who didn't understand how society worked. What should he do? Normally he'd just deny it, but Sasha was the kind of person who would insist until she got the kind of answer she'd believe. Denying was out of question, then. Truth? Yeah, the truth would do. It's not like he cared what Sasha thought of him or if her feelings got hurt and, with them being the only ones here, no one else would hear him.

"Yes, I am" he said, but didn't look at her. Or at least, he wasn't going to, but ended up doing so anyway only to see her frown "Why?"

Again, he decided to go with the truth.

"Because you're not worth the trouble" he said, clarifying thanks to Sasha's blank stare: "You're just a redneck peasant with no manners; the more I'm around you the more my own reputation will be at risk."

"Wh-what? Why would you… say something like that?" Sasha asked, clearly confused. Nikolo frowned, thinking he'd been as direct as possible. Guess not "Sasha, you know you aren't like the rest of us, don't you? We're above you, our families are above yours, and while it's a great improvement for you to get in to a school like this, you'll _never_ be on our level, never be one of us. It's something everyone here knows yet no one says to you out loud because it's not socially appropriate, but since you didn't seem to be able to get it on your own I- "

The words died down in his throat as he saw Sasha's shoulders starting to shake as she lowered her gaze to the floor. Was she crying? Yes, definitely, Nikolo could hear it now. He felt a little bad. He knew there was a chance he'd hurt her feelings, but he hadn't expected to do it so badly. Not that he really regretted what he'd said; they were all facts that needed to be laid out in the open since Sasha clearly couldn't read the mood. And he couldn't exactly tell it in a nicer way either since a girl like Sasha wouldn't have been able to get it that way.

"Hey, Sasha- "he started, reaching out to her, but before he could touch her she moved, running right out of the classroom. Against everything he had believed, Nikolo actually felt a huge bang of guilt in his chest as he watched her retreating form.

And she didn't come back even when it was time for the club.

XXXXX

Sasha hadn't really thought of the direction she had started running to. Actually, she hadn't thought anything at all other than the fact that she had to get away from there, get away from _him_.

It's not like she hadn't known about the things he mentioned, that some looked down on her thanks to her background, but she had thought they'd stop that after they got to know her as a person. And she had honestly thought that Nikolo was her first real breakthrough, that they were _friends_ , but apparently not. Apparently, he had just been his idea of polite yet had gotten tired of it in the end.

Spotting the ladies room, Sasha ran in and chose a stall, locking it behind her. She needed to calm down before anyone saw. She knew a lot of people here didn't like her and she _refused_ to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

" _Oh god damnit… and ta think that Jean warned me about this too"_ she thought bitterly, remembering how her friend Jean had told her that it was more common than not for high born people to look down on others and treat them poorly. Sasha had laughed to his face then, saying he was just stuck on stereotypes. How could she not when the guy had been all stuck up and treated her and her friend Connie like some useless hicks when they met in junior high? All because they were from the countryside while Jean himself was a city boy… and yet, before the end of their first year, they'd become inseparable despite the fact that the two of them annoyed the hell out of Jean _"But I suppose he was right about this place and these people after all."_

But on the bright side, it's not like she had come here to make friends. She'd come with the clear goal of getting a better education than what her family could normally afford so that she'd have a chance for a better job with a better pay in the future. That way she could support her family. She didn't _need_ friends for that. Of course, it'd be awesome if her years in high school would be fun and all, but it wasn't necessary. She had friends outside of school after all and she could see them when they all had the time. Living in the same neighborhood, she'd definitely see Connie on holidays while visiting her family and together they'd come up with time to pay Jean a visit, too. Who knows, maybe the could do a surprise assault on her best girl friend Mikasa and the guys from her neighborhood during the next vacation, too.

Thinking of her friends had made Sasha feel better and she was no longer crying. Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the stall and went to wash her face. When she looked up from the sink, she could see another girl's reflection through the mirror, staring at her. After what had just happened, one would think she'd be smart enough to not start casual conversations with the other students, but she wasn't the type of person to give up. Just because she knew she was unlikely to succeed it didn't mean she had to stop trying to make friends. Besides, she was pretty sure Nikolo had introduced her to this person before…

"Hi" what was her name again? That's right "Yelena, right?"

"Yes, and you're Sasha, correct?" she asked as she walked over to wash her hands "From the archer team?"

"Yeah" Sasha confirmed, surprised she knew. Just an hour or so ago she would've just assumed that Nikolo had told her, but now she wasn't so sure anymore… what had Nikolo said about this girl again? That's right! "You're in the kick boxing club, right? I used to do that in junior high"

Yelena looked at her in surprise before smiling with a nod.

"That and karate. Used to do judo and iaido, too" she said. Sasha had no idea what the two later ones were and only had a vague idea of karate, so she really hoped the conversation wouldn't stick to this subject, for it'd really make her look like some uncivilized country pumpkin "How come you stopped?"

"Oh, I was never really that good" Sasha said with a laugh, remembering how Connie and their friend Eren always managed to kick her ass, not that she felt bad about it because Mikasa always got back at them for her, taking them both down at once "But mostly because I wanted to focus on other things."

Yelena hummed, saying: "Like cooking? You're in the cooking club like Nikolo, aren't you?"

Sasha flinched, hoping it didn't show. She supposed it was natural for Nikolo's name to come up since he'd been the one to introduce them to each other, but she would've preferred if it hadn't.

"Actually, doesn't your club meet today?" the older girl suddenly asked "Now?"

"Ah…" Sasha supposed it wasn't that weird that she knew "Yeah, but I… I wasn't feeling all that well, so… yeah."

If her stammering wasn't suspicious then nothing was, but maybe it'd be against Yelena's idea of proper manners to point it out? She sure hoped so, for the girl was looking at her rather suspiciously.

"I see" she said, turning to leave "Do go to the infirmary if it gets worse."

"Yes of course" Sasha said quickly, adding on impulse "I guess we'll see each other around?"

"Naturally" Yelena answered, pausing at the door "Oh, and Sasha?"

"Yes?"

With a knowing smile, the older girl said: "Nikolo can be rather thoughtless and a brat sometimes, but he's not a bad guy. Don't let him upset you too much." and with that, she left. Sasha's face went red as she stared after her, wondering how the other girl had known.

XXXXX

Next Tuesday, Sasha was already in the class when Nikolo got there for the club, having found herself a different partner this time. He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was relieved to see her back, see that he hadn't scared her away from the club entirely. Just because he didn't want to deal with her personally it didn't mean he wanted to cause her trouble.

However, the way Sasha avoided even looking in his direction did start to bother him a bit. It shouldn't, but it did. But it was better this way, he told himself. A lot better in the long run, for both of them, of that he was sure.

XXXXX

Two weeks. Two weeks and Sasha hadn't talked to him at all during that time, one time going as far as to completely change the direction she was walking to when she saw him coming. Nikolo should be pleased by this, should be glad that he didn't need to deal with that loud redneck, who had gotten less loud lately, anymore, but he just found himself frustrated instead. And that was utterly ridiculous.

" _She should at least mind her manners and greet me when we pass each other in the hallway or when we see each other at the club"_ he thought, ignoring the small voice in the back of his head that reminded him that he hadn't tried to greet her either. She had always been the one to do so before, so why change things now?

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Nikolo notices that Onyankopon and Yelena already sit at their usual table. However, this time there is a third person with them.

Sasha.

Now, Nikolo _had_ seen her and Yelena talking to each other during the past few weeks, also eating lunch together once, but Yelena never talked about Sasha. Not that she had a reason to, but he was surprised she had invited her to their table… or had Sasha sat down uninvited? He certainly wouldn't put that past her. Figuring he'd only find out by sitting down, he made his way to the table, noting that place beside Sasha was the most natural choice since there were already two people on the other side of the table. She seemed happy, laughing at something that Onyankopon had said while Yelena was just shaking her head in amusement.

"… _They better not be talking about_ me _"_ Nikolo thought, not putting it past any of them. In fact, he found it very likely that those three in particular would make fun of him behind his back… and to his face if they just got the chance.

"What are you guys talking about?" he asked as he set his lunch down, sitting right next to Sasha.

"I was just telling them about- "Onyankopon was cut off by Sasha standing up, picking up her own lunch "Sasha?"

"Sorry, but I've got to go" the girl said, smiling at them in a way that made Nikolo slightly uncomfortable "I… still have some homework left for the next lesson that I haven't finished. I'll see ya guys again some other time."

"…Okay" Onyankopon said, lifting a hand to her at the same time as Yelena said: "See you."

Sasha shot them one last smile, and Nikolo realized that it was only aimed to the other side of the table as she hadn't paid him a single glance.

After Sasha was out of earshot for sure, Onyankopon crossed his arms, asking: "So, what's this situation between you and Sasha?"

"There is no situation" Nikolo said as he started to eat, having already expected him to ask that. He could see Onyankopon raise an eyebrow as the dark-skinned man muttered: "Uhhuh, and she just happened to remember her unfinished homework when _you_ sat down next to her."

"Coincidence" Nikolo simply said despite being sure that that wasn't the case. Sasha was avoiding him for sure.

"Right" Yelena said "And the fact that I found Sasha crying in the bathroom around the same time that you became grumpier than usual is also a coincidence, isn't it?"

"…" Nikolo chose not to answer that, simply eating his food. Grumpier than usual? He was not grumpy, not before and not now, nor had Sasha avoiding him changed him in any way… right?

"You made her cry?" Onyankopon asked "Have you no soul?"

"I don't believe in souls" was Nikolo's answer "If you have a problem with a sinner like me then go read your bible or something."

"Wha-"

"I think now's a good time for both of you to shut up" Yelena interrupted before Onyankopon could say anything more, casting Nikolo a glare. The man complied, knowing that he'd just make a fool out of himself if he got in to debate about religion with the man across from him. Onyankopon believed in god, but he was level headed and knew how to stick other people's feet to their mouths when it came to matters of faith. It'd be a battle he could not win.

XXXXX

It was already an unfortunate day, for she was late from the cooking club. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Sasha saw another person reaching for the door handle to the class. Nikolo.

They looked at each other, realization that they were both equally late hitting her at once like a thunder, for she knew what that meant and, judging from his face, he knew it too. They'd get paired up for sure.

Sasha bit back a sigh as she worked. She hadn't even been _that_ late. Why oh why, did it have to be today that Connie had to drag on that phone call? Any other day and Nikolo wouldn't have been late like her and they wouldn't have ended up being partners… why were he late anyway? Sasha didn't know about actual classes, but Nikolo was _never_ late from the cooking club. She almost asked him, but stopped herself at the last second. No, she wouldn't speak to him. She wouldn't cause him trouble anymore by doing so.

Fortunately, today's recipe was very simple compared to the usual ones, so she highly doubted she'd need any help and thus wouldn't have to bother him. She was a bit unsure about certain functions of the stove, but certainly she could handle it these days…

…Is what she had thought, but when she eventually smelled smoke she realized she had messed up.

"Oh, no no no no!" Sasha panicked, rushing to the stove before she'd end up burning the whole building. What was she supposed to do again? If it was a bush fire or something she'd just throw water on it until it was out, but even through her panic she remembered that that was a no go when the fire included electronics. What should she-

"Move!" Nikolo shouted before pushing her to the side, taking everything off the stove, not bare handed of course, and turning the stove off, lastly throwing a fire extinguish blanket on it, patting it down to make sure a fire wouldn't start. Sasha could see their club mates staring, the older members included, but fortunately they were simply giving Nikolo nods of approval instead of the glares she got. She had caused the man trouble, but at least she hadn't gotten him _in_ trouble. But she got herself in trouble, that was for sure.

"Blouse, what's the meaning of this?" the club president asked, crossing her arms. Sasha laughed nervously, immediately realizing that _that_ was a mistake as well.

"I'm so sorry!" she said with a bow "I… I don't know what went wrong! I thought I'd done everything properly, but- "

"You shouldn't put this type of pot on this type of stove" Nikolo interrupted her, showing everyone what exactly had been the problem. Sasha saw the badly burnt pot, now also realizing her mistake "It's as simple as that."

"You need to be more careful" the club president chided "If you're unsure about something, even a little, just _ask_. It's unlikely, but one little mistake _could_ burn the whole building down, us going with it if we're really unlucky!"

Sasha knew the older girl was overexaggerating, but knew better than to say so and just kept apologizing, feeling everyone's burning gazes on her.

" _Oh god, I won't be kicked out of the club, will I?!"_ she wondered, horrified. It'd be better than getting kicked out of the whole school, though.

"Alright, show's over" the president said "Return to your positions before one of _you_ burns the building. And you two" she is addressing Sasha _and_ Nikolo "Make sure you clean that up properly."

"Yes" they say as one, but Sasha can hear Nikolo sigh in frustration as soon as the class president walks away. Feeling awful, she turns to him "Sorry."

"…Be more careful next time" he simply says after a while before going to fetch cleaning supplies. Sighing, Sasha doubts that there's no longer any chance of getting on his good side.

XXXXX

Time for club, and somehow Nikolo ended up getting paired with Sasha second time in a row despite the girl still not trying to become his partner. Apparently, everyone Sasha had asked had already promised someone else early on, just like the ones Nikolo had asked. Great, just great. She better not get them in trouble this time. Well, no other choice but to deal with it.

Fortunately, Sasha didn't get him or herself in trouble this time. However, near the end of the class Nikolo was extremely pissed, for he had learned that they had not ended up working together by coincidence. The whole damn club had arranged it, having agreed beforehand to turn the two of them down when they tried to team up.

"I can't believe you can all be so childish" Nikolo told a small group of his clubmates "Why us, anyway?"

"Well Blouse is what she is and you are, pardon me for saying this, you" one of the guys said, making others nod in agreement. Nikolo had no idea what the hell that meant, but it'd be no good to lose his cool "Excuse me?"

The girls giggled and the guys snickered, the one from earlier continuing: "You have a crush on that hick, don't you?"

"What?" Nikolo hissed, trying to fight off a blush, but it was futile "I do not!"

Where had he gone wrong to give people such crazy ideas!? He had been so careful! Gosh, if that rumor spread out he'd become an outcast in the whole school!

"Sure, you do, you two were so close during the first few months and all" one of the girls teased and the others laughed "Shall we just rename her "Cinderella?""

Nikolo fought the urge to slap her, but forced him to calm down. If this little joke of theirs didn't destroy him, _that_ certainly would. He had to handle this civilly, and by civilly he meant subtly dissing Sasha so that they'd believe him or at least drop the subject.

"I don't have a crush on her, I was just being polite since _someone_ had to set an example" he said "And I didn't really see no one else doing it, so- "

"Could it be you didn't notice she was a hick?" one of them asked. That was bull's eye, but Nikolo _really_ wished that it didn't show on his face "Of course I did but, like I said, someone had to set an example of how _we_ do things. Or should I have acted like an unmannered moron in front of someone like her?"

"Might've actually been thoughtful of you to do that" one of the third years commented "Would've made her feel at home I bet."

The others laughed at that and Nikolo rolled his eyes with a small smirk himself, but inwardly thought that that was too distasteful. He had thought Sasha ill-mannered, but at least she wasn't like that out of ill will. These guys, on the other hand, he wasn't so sure about anymore. It was one thing to separate people in to "us" and "them", but to openly keep pushing the other group down when they didn't really do anything wrong and just tried to do their best in life? He didn't think that was quite right, not that he could ever say that out loud. Instead, he tried to convince them: "Either way, I was simply minding my manners. Besides, if we're being completely honest here, why would _anyone_ have a crush on Sasha?"

Seeing that he had their attention better now, Nikolo continued: "Does she look special?" yes, her smile was stunning "No, unless you like the slightly ragged look which I think could be considered exotic by some" he got a few chuckles, meaning he was still on the right track. It didn't feel right to speak of her this way, but it had to be done "Is she smart?" no, but that didn't matter to lot of people "No, she keeps failing tests I hear. And her manners" she can learn "Well, rather nonexistent, don't you think? So, do tell me, _why_ would anyone have any interest in her?"

Nikolo managed to keep back his frown as he noticed some of them snickering, others holding their laughter. Was he just making a fool of himself here? Finally, one spoke: "Be more specific man; what exactly disgusts you so much about Sasha Blouse?"

Nothing.

Not that Nikolo could ever say that, he had an image to keep up. He had to drive this home _now_.

"Mostly her lack of manners" was what he decided on "What's wrong with her parents, not raising her at all? I would not be so surprised if they were a pair of alcoholics or- "

Nikolo never got to finish, too shocked by the cold feeling of _something_ landing on his head before something cold and brown started dripping down his face. He could smell chocolate… startled, he realized that the smell came from the chocolate pudding he'd made earlier. Chocolate pudding that was now dripping down his face and the back of his head.

The others started to laugh, and Nikolo slowly turned around. There, right behind him, he could see Sasha with the pudding bowl still raised above his head, the last drops of it steadily dropping on him.

"Wha…" was all he managed to get out as he stared wide eyed at the furious looking girl.

"Now yeh listen to meh" she started, jabbing Nikolo's chest with her finger "Ah don't care if yeh hate meh or if yeh think ah'm stupid, Ah don't care if yeh treat meh like ah was below yeh, but the moment ye speak shit about mah folks is the moment ye're in big trouble!"

Nikolo was frozen in shock, partly because of the pudding of course, but also because Sasha's accent was getting out… did she even realize that herself? And most of all, because she was making a fool out of him, and herself, in front of the whole club.

"If ye want to live in yer perfect little rich boi -bubble for all yer life then by all mean do so, but that dasn't mean the rest of us have ta deal with yer shit!" Sasha finished her rant by slamming the now empty bowl on the table before turning to walk away. Her back is what Nikolo saw, but his ears concentrated on the laughter. Which of them were they laughing at? …Most likely both, but which mainly? Was it him? Had Sasha just ruined his high school life, potentially his whole future, just like that?

That fear made Nikolo panic, making him irrational. The reasonable part of his brain that still worked screamed at him not to, yet he still snatched a ketchup bottle from the table, rushing after Sasha. Just few steps after, he had the bottle opened and he sprayed ketchup in her hair.

Everyone went quiet, and Nikolo could bet his life on the fact that they were staring at the two of them, but right now, Nikolo only had eyes for Sasha, waiting for the girl's next move. She turned around slowly, and when their eyes met he knew that this meant war. Without another word, Sasha reached over to Nikolo's head, starting to spread the pudding to his face too. Nikolo took a hold of her hand, taking a handful of pudding from his head with the other before slapping it directly to Sasha's face. With her free hand, Sasha snatched the ketchup bottle away from him, sprouting ketchup on his shirt. Nikolo scowled, snatching the bottle back, but Sasha backed away towards the pantry before he could use it. Reaching out behind her, Sasha took out an opened bag of flour and held it in front of her.

"…You wouldn't dare" Nikolo said, having a strong feeling that he knew what the girl had in mind.

"Try me" she hissed. Nikolo narrowed his eyes, refusing to back down. He went towards Sasha, but before he could use the ketchup bottle he was already covered in flour. Turned out that yes, Sasha did indeed dare. But Nikolo wasn't done with her, either. Blindly he reached for something, anything behind Sasha's back, hoping to get something that was easy to spread. He ended up with a bag of macaroni so no such luck, but he opened it anyway and tossed all he could at Sasha.

"That all you got!?" Sasha yelled, also blindly reaching behind her and ending up with some pepper. More effective, but in a small container. She didn't get a lot of it to Nikolo's face, but enough to get him to sneeze and loose the sense of his surroundings for a moment. When he was back in the game, he noticed that Sasha had gone over to the fridge and that it was open.

"Uh oh…" again, Nikolo felt like he knew exactly what the girl was thinking and, sure enough, he was soon hit by a fresh egg. And another. And then another, but he did manage to dodge the fourth one.

"Crazy bitch…" he muttered, deciding that the best way to go about this was to just let whatever she threw at him hit while going over to her so that he could reach in to the fridge as well. It would have messier stuff than the rest of the pantry anyway.

Nikolo ignored everything Sasha threw at him, boldly just walking over to the girl. Her eyes widened when she realized what he had in mind, rather late mind you, and she tried to stop Nikolo from getting the jam from the fridge, but it was a futile attempt. Opening the still half full container, Nikolo dumped all that was in it on Sasha's head with one swift movement. Not wasting a second, he blindly swiped something else from the fridge. A potato. Well, it would have to do, but could he-

"You- "as Sasha opened her mouth, Nikolo didn't think twice and just shoved the thing in, effectively shutting the girl up at the same time that she took a carton of milk in her hand, about to pour it over Nikolo's head-

"ENOUGH!" the loud shout startled them both, stopping them in their tracks, but not before Sasha had managed to tilt the milk carton downwards, starting to pour the liquid on Nikolo. Both of them turned to look in the direction of the voice, seeing their furious club president. Oopsie.

"Have you two lost your minds?" the club president asked, and Nikolo looked down, finally coming back to reality. Just what had he done!? He'd _never_ get to live this one down, he was _ruined_! And if his parents hear about this-

"This is not how the members of our club should act; it's _shameful_ of you" the girl said, gritting her teeth "But since one of you is a model student and the other one _was_ provoked rather rudely, I will let you off easy."

How easy did she mean exactly? Nikolo wouldn't mind any kind of punishment as long as this didn't end up on his record… he really hoped it wouldn't.

"We will keep this just between us already in the room, for it will damage the whole club if it gets out" Nikolo breathed out a sigh of relief, convinced that no one would go against the president. This might still ruin his position in the club though "But the two of you will replace everything you've wasted and ruined with your own money. And as soon as we're done for today, you two will clean this mess and won't leave until you're finished. Are we clear?"

"Yes president" Nikolo said, quickly adding "I am very sorry about this mess."

From the corner of his eye he can see Sasha rapidly nodding and, to his surprise, the potato is still in her mouth. He had removed his hand when the president started talking, so she could've just taken it out. However, the girl was still holding the now empty carton above his head, frozen in place. Sighing, he took the carton from her and pushed her hands down, taking away the potato as well.

"Looks like you broke Blouse" the president commented, but that was what was needed to snap Sasha out of it.

"I-I'm fine" she stuttered "I'm also really, _really_ sorry about this mess!"

"Good, now go clean yourselves up and come back before the club ends" she said "Dismissed."

Nikolo hastily walked out, Sasha hot on his heels he noted. Just when he was about to enter the men's room he could've sworn he heard a quiet apology and, while he was still angry at her, all he could think was how _he_ should be the one apologizing.

But Sasha had already closed the door to the ladies' room.

XXXXX

Sasha let out a tired sigh after closing the bathroom door. Oh gosh, why did she have to lose her cool like that!? She hadn't meant to, but hearing Nikolo insult her parents had just made her _snap_. What would she have told them if she would've been kicked out of school for this? She would've never been able to face her parents!

Fortunately, though, she'd just gotten scolded and ended up with some extra work and expenses. That wasn't bad at all, but she still felt terrible as she had gotten Nikolo in trouble as well. Of course, he was a jerk and this _was_ partly his fault for badmouthing her parents, but she'd still gone too far. As soon as their fight had ended she'd known that she had to apologize, yet she couldn't open her mouth ´till they reached the bathrooms and even then, it had been a small, weak sorry that he probably didn't even hear.

" _I have to apologize to him again, properly this time"_ she decided as she moved to clean herself. Her face would be easy enough, but her clothes and hair were a different story. She'd only get her hair properly washed at home and her clothes might even be ruined… but oh well, one skirt and shirt here and there, no big deal. She just hoped that the clothes Nikolo had been wearing weren't anything too expensive and fancy, for they were probably ruined too. And of course, she had really caused him trouble, just like he had feared. Now she _really_ didn't have a chance in making him her friend anymore, did she.

She just wanted to go home.

Sasha shook her head rapidly, slapping herself. No, she couldn't think like that. This was a great chance she had here; she couldn't throw it away just because she was having a little trouble. Things would get better eventually and if they didn't this would only last for three years with breaks in between. It was no big deal, she could handle this.

What she could not handle was this mess. Yes, her face was clean now and she had gotten the biggest lumps of jam, ketchup and the like off of her clothes and hair, but she was no where near clean yet and definitely wouldn't be until she got home. She wasn't a neat freak, not even close, but this was a bit too uncomfortable even for her. Frustrated, she took off her shirt to clean it better under the sink, but it only seemed to spread the stains. Great, just great. And she was running out of time; she had to get back to the class to clean up.

What a bad day.

XXXXX

Nikolo kept his mouth shut as he washed the floor in the pantry, not daring to look at Sasha who was reorganizing the shelves. They had to clean the dining area too, but since the pantry was where the actual mess was they'd gotten to an unspoken agreement to start from there. At first Nikolo had thought that the silence between them was good, but now he was getting unnerved. It was just _too quiet_ , it was never this quiet around Sasha. Desperate to break the silence, he started: "Hey- "

"I'm sorry!" Sasha blurted out immediately after, interrupting him. It took Nikolo a while to gather himself, surprised by the sudden apology, but in the end, he managed to say: "I'm sorry too."

The look Sasha gave him after that was full of surprise, which made Nikolo feel a little offended. Did she think so lowly of him that him apologizing was such a shock to her?

…Well, if she did then that _was_ pretty much his own fault. That in mind, he said: "I think I deserved it anyway."

"Yeah, you did" Sasha agreed immediately and Nikolo had to resist the urge to glare at her. If that was what she thought then why bother apologizing in the first place, especially if she was going to say it out loud "The pudding, I mean. Not the trouble that came after that when things got out of hand."

…Okay, Nikolo supposed that that was fair. Everyone would've probably just brushed it off with a little laugh if he'd let things be once Sasha had dumped the pudding on him, but he had decided to be a brat.

"Right" he said, unsure of what else to say.

"I think I get your point now though" Sasha said after they had worked in silence for quite a while now "I'll stay as far as I can from you from now on."

"You don't have to do that!" Nikolo told hastily, only then wondering what exactly he had said. Wasn't her leaving him alone exactly what he had wanted? The same seemed to be in Sasha's mind as she stopped what she was doing, turning to look at him in surprise.

"But I thought you said- "

"Forget what I said" he muttered. He should probably, no, _definitely_ stop, but he couldn't and the words just kept coming out "Just… forget it. It's fine if you don't; it's not like there's anything wrong with you… I mean…"

Sasha stared at him before letting out a giggle, making Nikolo blush in embarrassment. He should've just kept his mouth shut!

"So, you're fine with pairing up with me every now and then in class?" she asked. Embarrassed, Nikolo scratched the back of his head, but muttered: "Well, yeah."

"Well then…" Sasha trailed off before extending her hand towards Nikolo "Friends?"

He was about to say that he wouldn't go that far, but he couldn't after catching the look in Sasha's eyes. So hopeful, yet a bit uncertain and nervous. He felt like he'd hate himself if he disappointed her now.

"Yeah…" he said, taking her hand "Friends."

"Great!" she said "Now we better get a move on so that we won't have to stay here ´till nightfall."

"Yeah" Nikolo said again. That would really suck…. so how come Sasha wasn't getting back to work already instead of just standing there?

"Um…" the girl muttered "You _can_ let go of my hand now you know."

Nikolo drew his hand back fast like he had been burned, his face changing in to furious color of red.

"Sorry!" he said again, resisting the urge to bang his head against the wall. The only reason he didn't do so was that it'd just make him look even more stupid.

"It's okay" he heard Sasha say, and to his surprise Nikolo saw a slight blush on her face too. It was cute.

" _No, damn it!"_ Nikolo cursed his traitorous mind for going to places that it shouldn't… but then again, maybe thinking that way wasn't as bad thing as he had thought. After all, Sasha wasn't all that bad.

XXXXX

Sasha found herself to be rather nervous the next time the club gathered, wondering if Nikolo would agree to pair up with her. He'd agreed that they were friends, but it was very possible that he wouldn't want anyone else finding out about it… if that was the case he might get mad if she asked him. Maybe she should just wait and see who gets left over and pair up with that person.

"Planning to burn the kitchen again, Blouse?" one of the guys asked. Normally Sasha would snap something back after a comment like that, but after what happened last week she felt like it was justified, so she just looked away, her cheeks tinted red "Hey Nikolo, babysit the hick would you?"

Sasha fought the urge to groan. Great, now she'd gotten Nikolo in trouble by simply being there. He'd get mad again.

Nikolo came over, taking Sasha's arm to her surprise, dragging her away to one of the work stations with a sigh.

"Sorry about this" she muttered, not daring to look at him. To her surprise, Nikolo answered with: "I don't mind, really."

She looked up, not sure if she should believe him.

"And I planned to ask you to team up with me anyway" he said. Sasha was shocked, again wondering if he was telling the truth, but… was that a blush on his face?

" _Nah"_ Sasha thought _"Must be a trick of light."_

Even so, she was happy with this development. Even if Nikolo wasn't being completely sincere, he was clearly _trying_ to be nice to her, trying to be her friend. And right now, that was enough, for it was more than she had dared to wish for not too long ago.

Maybe her time in high school wouldn't be so bad after all.

 **A.N: The word count is over 9000! Ahem… I apologize if I messed up Sasha's accent too badly, I'm just not good with those. Also, sorry if someone was too OOC, but then again, I'd say that to be unlikely since aside from Sasha we know next to nothing about the characters appearing here. For all we know Yelena and Onyankopon might actually have made fun of Nikolo's attraction to Sasha in canon as well. And if they didn't, well, the world in this story is completely different, so of course they'd also act differently. Also, I do believe that both of them have a mischievous side to them, canon or no canon. Especially Yelena.**


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